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Searching For MICHAEL PETERSON A FILM BY JOLYON HOFF

Caught this Very entertaining Doco down at the Manly Twin on Sunday night and its very rare that a film gets clapped and hooted at the closing credits. Judging by the number of stoked people milling around in the foyer asking questions and singing the films praises I'd say the guys that made the film would be pretty happy with their very professional efforts.

Its Tight - Music, editing, the classic footage and interviews with the who's who of Ozzie surfing, the whole feel of this doco seamlessly combine to weave a web of Petersons prolific rise as THE dominant force at the beginning of the modern surfing era, his influence on the present day industry's origins and his fall from grace in a drug fuelled, gun-toting car chase and incarceration in gaol and mental institutions.

The final scenes document a happier man but not quite the Phoenix rising from the ashes but man, what a story !!!

The audience were clearly moved - I loved it.

p.s See it just for Rabbit's deepest tube ride where he is dead and buried,too far back and then just POP Hello Houdini -dont know why Steve Core kept filming but glad he did - a freakpiece of footage.

• At Last! A surf movie that gets in your face and personal. Bob McTavish

• Jolyon Hoff’s doco of the year will bring a smile to your lips and a tear to your eye. A great tale of a great surfer. Phil Jarratt

•  Fantastic, funny and sad all at the same time. Spectacular footage from the era. Vaughan Blakley - Editor Surfing World

• An informative, well-crafted, and touching documentary on the brief but incandescent career of Australian surf star Michael Peterson,.......the 55-minute film explores the relationship between creativity and madness as corroborated in the life story and surfing of a hugely inspiring individual, who suddenly seemed to go off the tracks. Or not so suddenly, as the story unfolds. Here was a man who could put everything together in the water, but who was almost totally dysfunctional on land, among people. Savvy editing and loads of obscure vintage footage and stills underpin the atmosphere of authenticity and time-travel as images of tangled groves of eucalyptus suggest the state of mind of the man many consider the best surfer in Australian history. The film is chock full of excellent film of MP surfing plenty of great Gold Coast waves, and gives plenty of opportunity to study the efficacy of different surfboard designs.

A nicely composed score perfectly complements the narrative here and features music from The Saints, The Brown Birds of Windy Hill, and others. Jolyon Hoff is an experienced Australian producer and director, whose broad international experience in all phases of film and media is solidly reflected in this effort.

Searching for Michael Peterson is a job well done; it tells a story that fills a critical missing link in the history of modern surfing. Good on ya, Jolyon! Drew Kampion - Surfer's Path